20 shadows appeared on the precipice of the Emperor Bone Sea.
The auras they emanated were light and airy, almost nonexistent. But if one was skilled enough, they'd be able to see the terrifying power hidden in these individuals' bodies.
This group consisted of experts, with the weakest of them being mid-level 4th class existences. And the reason they gathered today…
Was for the sake of killing one man, a man weaker than even their weakest.
The group was made up of two different forces, easily distinguished by the emblems on their clothes. Despite their seemingly covert actions, they didn't hide their affiliations.
On 9 of their arms was the Wellspring Family's emblem, and on the other 11, a veiled moon. Though this emblem didn't mean anything to the untrained eye, anyone with a vast information network would understand that these 11 were special forces that answered directly to the Bloodlock Family.
No words were exchanged between them. With a single glance from the two leaders at their helm, they dove into the Emperor Bone Sea below, steadily pursuing their prey.
They had supreme confidence in their own abilities. The second they found him, that man would die.
End of discussion.
***
"We need to go. Now." Damien muttered solemnly.
Just as he spoke, he felt a subtle vibration in the water around him. His instinct clearly delineated that the approaching danger would be too much for him to handle.
Ha!
He reached out and grabbed Zara's arm, galvanizing his mana to push him as fast as possible. A small field of altered time enveloped them as well, further increasing their speed.
Flash!
Their figures disappeared, reappearing 100 kilometers away. Rapidly, Damien took out his information jade slip and began jotting down everything he saw.
They'd only recently passed the 1000-kilometer mark, and the fact that the danger level shot up so drastically was worrying.
But now, the only choice they had was to continue forward. After all, when they looked at the direction they came from…
A festival of blood was taking place. Various sea creatures of unknown identity appeared from the darkness as if they'd been laying in wait the entire time. The commotion grew without end, soon expanding until even the 100 kilometers Damien and Zara fled were encompassed in the violence.
"Tch!" Damien clicked his tongue as he teleported them further away. At the same time, he marveled at the insanity before him.
A tiny fish around the size of a finger shot through the waters without fear, entering the fray. Surrounding it were species far bigger and stronger than it, some even having many kilometer-long bodies.
Xiu!
Bang!
The tiny fish cut through a gap between two of its competitors just as the smaller one's razor-sharp teeth tore open the larger one's body. Unassuming in its gait, this tiny fish consumed a portion of the dead beast's body without any others noticing.
It continued through the battlefield and by the time a few minutes passed, that tiny fish was already larger than a human man. The evolution speed of this organism, or rather, all organisms in the ocean's chaotic environment was absurd.
Nevertheless, Damien and Zara kept moving. The smell of blood continued to permeate the sea, leading the expanding conflict to grow greater and greater with every passing second. The beasts at the head of this massive battle royale were already around Damien's strength level, and they were only getting stronger with time.
Damien begrudgingly pulled his eyes away from the chaos and directed his gaze deeper. He could feel multiple presences on the horizon, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
'Only one will survive.' He realized.
Hundreds, thousands of 4th class existences were slowly embroiled in the chaos. Damien could instinctually feel that all of these beasts would become sustenance for a single being.
As for which being that was? That depended wholly on the victor of this battle royale.
'This is…simply impossible for other species. It's only possible because of the ocean's strange environment and the sheer amount of sentient life within. Even if one tried to replicate this scene on the surface, it would just collapse the existing ecosystem and run the area into ruin.'
An environment of insanity like this could rapidly produce powerful existences. Yet, all these powerful existences would eventually become prey for even stronger existences. In Damien's mind, he felt that the ocean was the rawest representation of the universe's functionality.
In the end, one was either prey or predator. Even as a predator, one would still be prey. The only way to survive was to kill, grow, and stand above everyone and everything else.
He and Zara began moving once more. They no longer had the strength to stay and watch the proceedings. But just as they decided to leave, a school of beasts broke off from the masses and rapidly pursued them!
'Shit!'
Damien immediately increased his speed. If he fought here, he'd inevitably be dragged into the massive conflict. His only option was to flee!
He darted through the water almost as agilely as a fish. As he experienced the feeling more, he realized how similar the deep ocean was to space. His movement abilities inherently improved when he started mimicking spatial techniques to traverse.
Suddenly, a glint caught his eye. The smell of fresh air inadvertently filled his nose. Without hesitation, he pulled Zara and moved in that direction.
"Damien, wait! That is…!" Zara tried to say, but unfortunately, she didn't have time to finish her words.
The duo burst through the water and arrived in a place free of it. As they looked around, they discovered a massive tree floating in the middle of the sea.
It wasn't anchored to anything, its roots didn't extend into the ground. It merely floated as if it were dead bark, but it clearly gave off an aura of life.
"This…the tree has created an air pocket around it?" Damien muttered. He heard Zara's panic loud and clear before they entered this space, and he was now examining it to the best of his abilities to find anything wrong.
"Zara, why did you try to stop me?" He asked as he did so.
Zara shook her head. "It's nothing. I just thought this tree looked familiar…"
"Familiar?"
"Mm, I remember seeing something like this in the notes you had in the dorm. But now that I look at the tree closely, it seems different."
Damien's eyes hardened upon hearing her words. Even if she was doubting her thoughts now, it didn't mean they had no validity.
Damien thought back on everything he knew about the Emperor Bone Sea as he further examined the tree.
And at that moment, it suddenly clicked.
"We're…fucked."
Existing without roots, creating air pockets to sustain itself, these features indeed mirrored a species Damien had researched before leaving.
But this tree was different. Zara was right about that.
The Unrestrained Life Tree was a species that mainly lived off the discarded remains of other beings left in the ocean. In simpler terms, it was a bottom feeder.
However, its carnivorous nature was still true.
And just like most other species, this tree had an equal and opposite.
The Unrestrained Death Tree.
Unlike its cousin, the Unrestrained Death Tree wasn't satisfied with mere scraps. No, this tree was far deadlier.
And judging by its proximity to the ongoing chaos…
It was definitely the initiator of this battle royale.
